Turn down the Volume!
One topic that seems rarely discussed is volume. If you listen to mixing engineers, it’s their most feared aspect of how their work is measured, since it’s out of their control. This leads to things like loudness wars (assume the worst). As my system has improved, my main takeaway is I can be engaged with 60db peaks, where when I hear other systems you often have to turn it up to 90db peaks for it to sound decent. I’m pretty sure it all has to do with bass and room energy, but wonder if others have a similar experience. Side note that reviews or any subjective ‘better’ statements about gear rarely indicate how loud they are listening. since all we can perceive if volume it is puzzling. I will say if it sounds good with 110 db peaks then that is impressive.
For me, it’s simple. I raise the volume to the point of the music, whatever it may be, sounds realistic and actually scales per the performance. If it is louder, it seems artificial and too large, too quiet, the opposite. I would say for most all, it is between 75-85 db. If louder, it typically means that it is still a realistic ‘size’ in my room. |
@bkeske I think that’s what I’m trying to address. When auditioning a new amp/ preamp, the music was lifeless and dull until it got to that 80 db area. But with my normal system it sounds great at 60. So it seems to impact the hobby and wondered why it isn’t mentioned more. Especially in reviews it never mentions listening levels. Also at 60 the music is just as lively, just perhaps ‘farther away’ in the soundstage. |
@dain You are right when you mention different systems have different loudness levels at any given dB reading. The Loudness Wars are all about dynamic compression. Soft passages sound almost as loud as the loud ones. It is pretty strange when a single violin sounds as loud as the entire orchestra. People seem to think this sounds better in their cars. We perceive other issues as "volume" like distortion and sibilance, both want to make us turn it down. If you do not know about Fletcher-Munson curves read up on it. You can make a system sound louder by modifying it's frequency response to match that of our hearing at any given level, the old Loudness switch. Next is the volume the recording was mastered at. Recordings mastered at high volumes will sound dull and bass-less at low volumes. Recordings mastered at low levels will sound bright and bassy at loud levels, see Fletcher Munson. Finally, there is the overall quality of the system. Powerful, low distortion systems ( I include the room as part of the system) with reasonably flat response curves never seem to be playing as loud as they actually are. 95 dB can be very comfortable and satisfying for no longer than an hour or two or you risk damaging your hearing. Volumes above 100 dB should be avoided. But, in order to handle peaks well a system should be able to push out 105 dB without noticeable distress. @bkeske has it right. Every recording has a "right" volume level again depending on how it was mixed and the type or genre of the music. |
@mijostyn that’s fascinating. And f-m curves make sense. Much of this is in our brains rather than our ears. I’m not sure about ‘ level it was mastered at’ that would mean what? I’m thinking of if you hear music playing from afar, you can usually tell if it’s a live band or a recording. So it’s really about peak volumes very apart from average. Genre dependent for sure. I’m interested in streaming, since they have rules or algorithms to keep one song from out powering another. But it still leaves us to decide where the knob goes. If hitting 95 peaks for hours as you say it would seem risky, if it’s highly compressed (made constantly loud) it would be ‘fatiguing’, but that’s why I wonder why it isn’t mentioned more often. |
